


Dan Loved Rain

by Septic84



Series: Random one shots [8]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Dan and Phil and Pets, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Septic84/pseuds/Septic84
Summary: “See,” Phil said, entering the room, “I knew it was supposed to find you. It sure seems like it chose you to me.”
Relationships: Dan Howell & Phil Lester, Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: Random one shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568485
Kudos: 6





	Dan Loved Rain

Dan wasn’t expecting to save a life that day, it happened when he had been walking home from the shop. It was meant to be a short, simple trip to get some essentials, but mostly he had conned himself with the promise of baked goods so that he would leave the house. He could have chosen a better day, it was raining and cold, but still, Dan had made up his mind and set out on his journey.  
Bodywash, he had come out to get body wash, which wasn’t exactly an urgent need; if worse came to worse, he could always use Phil’s, but none the less he was in the aisle, reading labels that promised to make him smell like the manliest of men. Scoffing at the toxic masculinity, he bought the same brand he always had. He knew he was wasting his time looking for something new; the same thing came home with him every time.  
He picked up toothpaste, toilet roll, and some crisps along with two pairs of socks for Phil (flamingos on one set, otters on the other.) Now that he was actually at the store, he didn’t want to go home as quickly as he had thought he would. After walking 5 additional times, he added three unnecessary things to his trolly. A wine glass with a pink outlined black diamond that just said, “Drink, Bitch,” a small set of herbal teas, and a bunch of tacky but cute refrigerator magnets; now, reluctantly went to the checkout.  
He took a long way home, and even though it was raining and he was wet, he was enjoying the change of scenery. He walked past a few flower beds, some kids playing in the rain just after being told not to, and a large tree that was growing at a strange but fascinating angle into a wall. That’s when he heard it, a small, meek cry for help. As he moved closer to the sound, he found himself near a drainage reservoir; when he peeked over the edge, he saw a small, very wet black cat huddled against the side, trying to evade the water that was rushing down the drain. Dan set down the bags and his backpack while looking for a way down to the animal; simultaneously trying to balance and not break his neck, Dan hurried down. The cat still wailed, “I hear you,” he said as he made his way down to it. When he got closer, he suddenly was concerned it may try to run and end up in the rushing water it was now avoiding. Quickly, he moved out of its view, picking it up immediately. The small being tried to struggle a little from fear, but the poor thing was exhausted and went limp in his arms. “Hello, aren’t you cute? Yes, you are,” Its eyes were wide, and it looked at him like it thought it was about to die. “It’s alright, kitty,” Dan had a problem now; how was he going to get them out of the reservoir? He wondered if he could put the kitten inside of his jacket and climb up, but he was afraid it would struggle, bite, or scratch him and ultimately get hurt. Dan searched his pocket in a futile attempt to find a solution. He found one mitten; Phil had used this coat last, so it wasn’t surprising that there was only one. That wouldn’t help, the cat was still trying to make a half-hearted attempt to struggle, but it was far too weak. Dan was going to have to leave it down here while he went back up to get his backpack, which seemed to be the only way he would get the cat out. Setting it down near the wall, further away from the water, the kitten started to meow loudly.  
“I’m sorry, kitty, I need you to stay there.” Patting it gently on the head, he carefully started to make his way back up the wall. About halfway up, he lost his footing, slipped, skidded down the wall, and landed on his knee. “Fuck!” Pain shot through his leg and tailbone. “That went well.” He looked back over to the cat, who thankfully hadn’t moved. Dan was back on track after slowly standing up, testing putting weight on the leg to ensure nothing was broken. Dan moved further down the drain, noticing a less steep incline over a grate near the end. It looked dodgy, perhaps unstable, so he bent down and attempted to move it with his hands. It did not move, so tentatively, he stepped on one side, then the other, testing it. After he was sure that It was sturdy, he moved as fast as he could. He chanted “Shit, shit, shit,” to himself the entire way across it. Success, he was on the other side. As he was about to start his ascent, his phone chimed. Dan hadn’t even checked to see if it were broken after the fall, which was a big deal for him. Of course, it was Phil.  
“Are you lost?”  
Dan had been down here for an hour already and hadn’t even noticed, “No, I’ll be back shortly.” More determined than ever, he started the grueling task of climbing up wet and, therefore, slippery concrete. Finally, he was able to climb out on the grass and got his backpack. He took a deep breath and started the trek down, repeating the process from earlier. This time when he approached the cat, it hissed. “Listen, kitty, I just want to get you out; we have to work together,” Slowly, he crouched, ignoring the pain protesting through his knee, and extended his hand. The cat stopped hissing, “That’s it, good kitty.” As he had before, he quickly scooped up the cat and maneuvered it into his backpack. The wailing was even louder as he zipped it and carefully placed the bag on his back. “I know,” he murmured to the cat’s fearful pleas. It took him longer this time. It added another level of difficulty with the cat’s movement on his back, challenging his balance. After what seemed like hours, he saw the grass again. “Oh, thank Christ, we’re out.” His knee really started to hurt now, but he grabbed the now overly saturated shopping and limped his way back home.  
By the time Dan had his key in the lock, his body was quaking with shivers, he was wet, sore, and tired, but they had made it.  
“Took you long enough,” Phil sassed as Dan came in, “Oh my god, what happened?”  
“Lo-lo- long, stor- stor-story,” his teeth chattered through the sentence.  
“Here, take off your bag. You need to get out of those clothes,”  
“N-no.” Dan pushed past Phil into the lounge, where it was the warmest. Phil followed him, confused. Carefully removing the backpack, he set it on the sofa and started to unzip it.  
“Dan, what are you doing? You’re going to ruin the sofa with that wet bag,”  
“mew, mew, mew,”  
“Co- come out ki- kitty  
“Dan?” Phil leaned over and peered into the bag; he was met with large, scared eyes.  
“Sa, sa-ved it,”  
“So that’s why you are so late!” Dan reached in and pulled out the cat; it struggled again, only this time, it got free and ran for a place to hide.  
“Oh my god,”  
Dan breathed a sigh of relief. At least the cat was contained in the flat and was safe. His shivering was starting to escalate, “Ph-Phil, n-need a s-shower, find the cat,”  
“What?!”  
He could now feel his feet and hands again. He didn’t take as long a shower that he probably should have; he was too preoccupied with the new and lost house guest. He dressed in the warmest clothes he had and went back to the lounge. He was in a lot of pain; the knee was severely torn open, and he couldn’t put weight on it without pain. 

“I tried, but I can’t find it,” Phil said sadly, “wait, why are you limping?”  
Dan told Phil the entire story, recounting how funny it must have looked had a third party been watching. “We need to find the cat, and I need cat supplies; I am ordering a delivery.”  
“Dan,”  
“I know, we can’t keep it, but for now, I want it safe,”  
“But Dan,”  
“I know you are allergic, but I couldn’t just leave it there,”  
“Of course not, but”  
“I promise, I’ll sort it out,”  
“Dan, will you shut up?” Dan’s mouth snapped shut. Phil took a deep breath, “Thank you. Slow down, yeah? I am allergic, but I don’t know how allergic. I was tested years ago, and I haven’t lived with a cat before so,”  
“Are you attached already?”  
“I mean, no, but the cat found you like it was supposed to find you, Dan.”  
“I heard it crying, and I just went to see what I could do,”  
“And what you did was climb into a drainage reservoir, fall down and hurt yourself, and give yourself hypothermia,”  
“Don’t be so dramatic. It was going to be swept away and would have drowned, Phil. It didn’t choose me. I just happened to be there. Right place, right time. I couldn’t leave it to die!”  
Phil smiled at him, “yeah, course,”  
“We have to find it, feed it, and take it to a vet tomorrow.  
“I’ll research it. You order the supplies.”  
*-*-*-*  
They had learned that they should let the cat come out on its own and not try to “pull it out of” whatever hiding spot it had found. They had a litterbox, food, and a fluffy blanket for it to sleep on in a cardboard box. Phil had long since gone to bed, but Dan insisted on staying in the lounge near the items to watch for the cat. He tried to stay awake, but exhaustion overtook him, and he fell asleep on the sofa.  
Dan felt a warm pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw a black mound of fur on his chest. He smiled, and it slowly opened its eyes, “Hey kitty,” the cat was hesitant but contented using Dan as its bed.  
“See,” Phil said, entering the room, “I knew it was supposed to find you. It sure seems like it chose you to me.”  
Dan looked up smiling, “I can’t believe this is the same cat,”  
“I have an appointment at the vet clinic in a few hours, it did eat some of the food, and we are lucky; it seems to be litter trained.”  
Dan frowned, “We should try to find its owners,”  
“If it has owners,” Phil sat on the arm of the sofa. “I have already done some looking. I haven’t seen anything online in missing pet groups.”  
“We should take a walk and look for flyers,” Phil nodded. “How are you feeling? Any allergy symptoms?” “Not as far as I can tell, and if so, they’re really mild.”  
“Good, that’s good.”

“Phil?” They were at the vet clinic; Phil held the carrier as Dan’s knee was still pretty bad, and he couldn’t walk without limping. They were led into a small room, “Hi, Doc Martin,” the vet extended his hand, and Dan shook it. “Tell me what I can do for you,”  
After explaining the previous day’s events, the cat had a full workup; other than being somewhat underweight, there were no clear health concerns. “There isn’t a chip, and based on the condition of this cat, I believe she’s been out for a while,”  
“It’s female?”  
The vet nodded, “She’s about a year old and remarkably healthy considering how you found her,”  
“So, what now?”  
“Well, immunizations, and we should spay her. I would like to keep her and observe, just to be sure there isn’t anything else. You can pick her up tomorrow if that’s alright?”

There were no flyers, no missing posts, and the cat wasn’t microchipped. It seemed like she didn’t have owners. “What are you going to name her?”  
“Are we really doing this?” Dan was already attached, there was no doubt about that, but he still wasn’t sure they were going to fully adopt her.  
“Of course, we are. I keep telling you this cat found you. Like it was sent to you by the universe, it’s your cat,”  
“Well, technically it would be our cat,”  
“You know what I mean.”  
“Yeah,”  
“She’s not even been with us 24 hours, she’s been away at the vet for 3, and you already miss her.”  
Dan shook his head, chuckling, “You’re not wrong,”  
“Exactly.” 

When she had come home from the vet with the ridiculous looking but necessary cone around her head, Dan was afraid she would hate them forever, but she didn’t.  
“I feel so bad for her. It looks so undignified,”  
Phil laughed,” She’ll be fine. So, name?”  
“I am going to forewarn you, the name I have in mind isn’t very original or creative,”  
“Does it have to be?”  
“I guess not; Rain,”  
Phil smiled, “I like it,”  
“How about you, kitty? You like the name, Rain?” Dan knelt down and stroked her head in the cone, “Hm? You like the name, Rain?” She tried to rub up against him and scent mark him, but the cone prevented that. “I think she does,”  
“The internet is going to be pissed when we tell them about this. They wanted us to have a dog.”  
“We could get a dog. Seem to be okay cat parents,”  
“Time to research what are the best dogs that get along with cats, I guess,”  
Three months later, the cat was completely comfortable being a spoiled member of the family. Three weeks after the vet trip, Dan and Phil had adopted a dog from the shelter. They had their favorite breeds, but both agreed they wanted to rescue a dog after Rain’s rescue. Dan and Phil were now proud pet parents to two rescues, a black cat named Rain and a tan pug named Winston, and they couldn’t be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> Promps:  
> <https://www.tumblr.com/blog/septic84>


End file.
